Page 48 of Sex. Love. Marriage.

Nick’s never wanted kids, probably because Noah was an asshole little brother, but I know his wife Xianna does. “Oh, uh, well, we’re trying IUI. Xia really wants a baby, but it just hasn’t happened yet.”

“I’m sure with time it will.” I smile, rocking Fin back and forth when she starts to fuss that people are walking by and touching her costume. “What happened to your eye?”

“Tried to break up a fight.” He gives a hard laugh, running his hand over his jaw. “Apparently they weren’t done.”

“I see.” Looking around, I look for Noah but don’t see him now, and that woman is still holding my fucking kid like she’s going to run away with him. He’s staring at her boobs, yet to make eye contact with her. “With who?”

“Who what?” Nick asks, his attention on the blonde too, but he glances up briefly while leaning against the side of the building.

“Who was fighting?”

“Oh, uh, your boy and one of the techs, Ryker.” Ryker is another tech in the shop who is constantly battling Noah and his authority over the other techs for some reason. I don’t know too much about him and have only met him once. With the way Noah talks about him, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind doing more than punching him. Truth is, Noah was brought in because the shop was a mess and they needed him to try to rein it in and make it profitable again. Nick’s always been a businessman but running a dealership and running the mechanical end of things is completely different. That being said, Noah’s presence among the guys isn’t exactly amicable.

“Why?”

“Some shit. I don’t know.” Nick stands straighter, his forearm wiping across his forehead. “Ask him.”

“Kel?”

Turning around, I see Noah coming up the side of the truck, Sevi in his arms upside down and his tail in this mouth, giggling. He prefers to be carried upside down. And act like a dog. “What are you doing here?” He stops at the side of the truck and then sets Sevi on his feet.

I can’t help but notice a woman behind him following closely.

Without looking at her, Noah gives me a smile, taking the coffee from my right hand. “This for me, honey?”

My smile ignites at his term of endearment for me. At least he’s happy to see me. Don’t get too excited. This is how Noah deals with shit. Avoid. Avoid. And yet again, avoid.

“Yeah.” His hand in a splint drapes over my shoulder, tucking me into his side. “Thought you’d appreciate it.”

“I do.” Turning his head, he whispers low in my ear, “There’s a truck over there like the one I had in college. Wanna try out the bed?”

He’s joking, but it’s nice he’s teasing. After our distance and the fight, this is a good thing, right? I’m not sure it is because this is what Noah does. He will literally do anything aside from talk about our problems. I used to think he did this because he didn’t care enough to acknowledge them. Now I’ve come to realize he does this because it’s his personality. I smile at him. “It’s been years since we did that.”

“In that case, let me show you my dip stick and I’ll check your oil.” He half laughs, walking me back out of the way of the other row of cars in the shop and the woman, she’s now talking to Nick and looking awfully flirty.

Noah chuckles when Fin pushes him away from me. He gets right in her face and asks, “Why do you hate me so much?”

She frowns at him, smacking his cheek with her tiny hand but doesn’t say anything.

“Noah,” the woman who’d been holding Sevi has him again, snuggling him, says, “can I please keep this little guy?”

Turning to face her, Noah smiles. “Nah, we kinda like him.” He drops his arm from around me.

“Who is she?” I whisper, my breath catching, and I hate that I react to the fact that he dropped his arm from around my shoulder. I shouldn’t, but I do.

“This is Ava,” he tells me, giving a nod to her. She smiles. Mine’s tight and forced, my eyes moving from hers to my son. Noah takes Sevi from her when he notices I’m not comfortable with her mauling our son. “Nick hired her to head up sales.”

Judging by the busty blonde’s appearance, I’m guessing it’s more like giving sales head.

Ava politely extends her hand to mine. “And you must be Kelly?”

At least she knows my name.That’s good, right?

Ava moves around to the other side of the truck and out the bay doors as Noah turns back to me. I catch the redness of his cheek, the pink in his knuckles of his other hand and ask why he’d been fighting with Ryker.

“He was giving Ava shit as soon as she walked in this morning. It pissed me off that he couldn’t just keep his mouth shut for one day.”

“So you hit him?”

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